Opinion

Finding and developing engineering talent is critical to UK future success

paul Jackson chief executive EUK

The number of students in STEM is increasing but far too slowly - we need to tackle the policy agenda that supports our practical efforts to really start to make a difference, says Paul Jackson.

How can policy address the UK’s STEM gap? That was the topic of a Cambridge University Science and Policy Exchange discussion I participated in this month looking at the changes needed in education, immigration policy and diversity. There is no single policy change that will narrow the skills gap in engineering, but broadening the curriculum, linking school work to future jobs and improving the vocational learning application process are obvious ones to me. 

The CBI says at least 60% of future jobs will need STEM skills and everything from UKCES tells us much the same. There isn’t a shortage of forensic scientists or biologists but their skills will always be useful. There is a shortage in engineering and this is incredibly important to the economy.

"Five years ago people thought we were daft creating a science and engineering fair for young people, the Big Bang, but now it’s the biggest youth event in Europe"

It is partly caused by a failure to train enough people in the 80s and 90s, partly by a failure to attract a diverse workforce, particularly women, and partly because we all love to use engineered stuff in our everyday lives so there are genuine new applications and opportunities every day. 

In Britain engineering accounts for a quarter of UK turnover, over £460bn in GDP terms. Our research base is brilliant and so is much of the exploitation. But, we have a shortfall of 55,000 per year and too few teachers coming through the system. Not filling those posts would mean exporting GDP, losing the opportunity for economic growth and failing to exploit research. We would also fail to provide decent employment for a wide section of society and see earnings drop in global terms. 

CEBR research for EngineeringUK has shown the multiplier effect from skilled engineering employment is almost three to one. Consider that in the context of immigration. Leave a job vacant when it could be filled through immigration and you kill off three jobs in the UK economy. And, that’s without making the situation worse by leaving the European Union. 

 This month has seen employers, educators and those who chose a vocational pathway celebrating VQ (Vocational Qualifications) Day, highlighting their value to the individual and more widely. The Government wants more apprentices yet we still make it so difficult compared to graduate routes: no careers advice and no UCAS so every application is individual. Only 21% of parents, and 14% of STEM teachers, would recommend a vocational qualification for their child/student.

If we truly want to boost the numbers of apprentices, in STEM and indeed in other industries, we need to create a single UCAS-style application process that accommodates both academic and vocational pathways putting apprenticeships, many of which can include university study, on a level playing field with degrees. 

It is essential that business actively supports the drive to bring in more diverse talent. Some companies, for example MBDA and National Grid, have a company policy of 50/50 gender balance in all work experience cohorts, that’s a policy that could be easily adopted by other engineering employers. The Crossrail policy of developing local talent has seen a broadening of the talent pool through apprenticeships, the TUCA training academy and a series of inclusion and diversity campaigns and policies that extend as far as the supply chain.

"For every job that is created in engineering, two more are created elsewhere in the economy and filling the demand for new engineering jobs will generate an additional £27bn per year from 2022."

The number of students in STEM is increasing but far too slowly. At every key decision point, young people – especially girls, post-GCSE – are choosing not to continue with STEM subjects. Clear, up-to-date careers inspiration, information, advice and guidance for young people, particularly in relation to STEM careers, is absolutely crucial if the skills shortage is to be reduced.

Through our Tomorrow’s Engineers careers resources we provide engaging information, but as a country we are currently selling young people short when it comes to objective, informed advice and guidance. We nominally “empower” young people to make those subject choices and then fail miserably to provide them with enough information to make an informed choice. 

What does the research tell us, again? For every job that is created in engineering, two more are created elsewhere in the economy and filling the demand for new engineering jobs will generate an additional £27bn per year from 2022. 

Five years ago people thought we were daft creating a science and engineering fair for young people, the Big Bang, but now it’s the biggest youth event in Europe for the age group and local communities run a further 100 fairs for 100,000 local people around the country. The Tomorrow’s Engineers programme is reaching over 800,000 with great careers information through employers, charities and universities.

We have shown that it is possible to make a difference if we tackle the issues on a big scale, in a coherent way. We need to do the same on the policy agenda. And let’s do it now. 

 

Paul Jackson is chief executive of EngineeringUK  www.engineeringuk.com  @_EngineeringUK

Comments

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